Australia considers plans to reopen North Korean embassy

The Australian Government has received a request from the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea to re-open its embassy in Canberra.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs says the embassy had been closed in 2008 for financial reasons.

She says the Australian government does not oppose the reopening of the embassy, arguing it would provide a channel to Pyongyang to convey messages of importance to Australia, including North Korea's nuclear and missile activities and on human rights.

The spokeswoman says there's no firm timetable for the embassy to be re-established.

"A North Korean Embassy in Canberra would enable us to register our deep and strong concerns about the human rights crisis in North Korea which is probably the most systemic abuse of human rights on the face of the planet," he said.